Keyboard-player.



Patented Oct. 29, 190i.

E. L. G. C. T. BIELEFELDT 8|. R. F. E. L. SILWAR.

KEYBOARD PLAYER.

(Application filed May 20, 1901.)

2 Sheets-Sheat I.

(No Model.)

m: wunms pawns cu. we

'No. 685,245. Patented Oct. 29, I901."

E. L. s. c. T. BIELEFELDT & B. F. E. L. SILWAR.

KEYBOARD PLAYER.

(Application filed May 20, 1901.] (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ERNST LUDWIG GEORG CARL TI-IEODOR BIELEFELDT AND RICHARD FRIED- RICHERNST LEOPOLD SILW'AR, OF HAMBURG, GERMANY.

KEYBOARD-PLAYER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 685,245, dated October29, 1901.

Application filed May 20,1901. Serial No. 60,969. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: mounted on the shaft and engaging a suit-Beit known that we, ERNST LUDWIG GEORG able spur-gear 12; provided on orattached to CARL THEODOR BIELEFELDT and RICHARD the said drum 4.FRIEDRIOHERNSTLEOPOLD SILWAR,subjects Above the drum 4 the brackets 1are con 5 ofthe German Emperor,and residents ofHamnected by a suitabletraverse or connecting burg, Germany, have invented certain new rod 13,upon which are fulcrumed hammeraud useful ImprovementsinKeyboard-Playlike levers or strikers 1a, corresponding in ers, of whichthe following is a specification. number with the keys 15 of thekeyboard in- The present invention relates to automatic struinent to beoperated and being held the IO mechanism for attachment to keyboardinproper distance apart by spacing-rings 16. struments for instance, towriting-machines The levers or strikers 14, being guided in slots ortype-writers arranged and constructed to 17 of a suitable bracket 18,mounted on the be operated by means of key-levers for the base 2, areconnected by rods 19 (or any other mechanical execution or reproductionof a suitablemeans) with double-armed levers 20, 15 greater number ofcopies of a writing, prospivoted between spacing-rings 21 on aconpectus, pamphlet, or the like in order to obnecting-rod 22 of thebracket-wings 18*. The viate the more tedious and unreliablefingerarrangement of the levers 20 is such thattheir work. inner ends ornoses 23 are in the path of the The present invention has for its objectto corresponding pins 5 of the drum 4:. 2o produce such a mechanismwhich may be The above-described keyboard-player is inreadily attachedto any key-lever-operated tended to be placed and secured in suchpotype-writer, which shall occupy a comparasition to thekeyboard-instrument type-writer tively small space, shall be exceedinglysimthat its strikers 14 rest upon the correspondple in construction, oflow cost, not liable to ing keys 15 of the latter and are normally held25 get out of order, and thoroughly eflicient and in their upperposition by the said spring-acreliable in operation. tuated keys 15.(See Fig. 1.) lVhen a pin 5 The invention consists in various featuresof the rotating drum 4, of which pins, for sake of construction, ashereinafter described and of clearness, only a few are indicated inFigs. claimed. 1 and 2, strikes against the nose 23 of a lever 3b In theaccompanying drawings, Figure 1 is 20, the latter is rocked thereby,causing the a sectional elevation of the improved attachcorrespondinglever 14 to swing down and ment mechanism or keyboard-player. Fig. 2push the corresponding key 15, upon which is a plan View of Fig. 1, andFig. 3 is a View the said striker rests, likewise downward in similar-t0Fig. 1 and showing a modified form order to make the requiredimpression. As 35 of the means for governing the levers or striksoon asthe pin 5 has passed the nose 23 the ers operating the keys orkey-levers of the released lever mechanism 2O 19 14 is returned keyboardinstrument. or raised into its normal upper position by Similar numeralsrefer to similar parts the also released key 15 rebounding orraisthroughout the several views. ing under the influence of its spring.(Not 4o Suitable brackets 1 of aframe or base 2 supshown in thedrawings.)

port a shaft 3, upon which is mounted a drum In the modification shownin Fig. 3 the keyor cylinder 4, furnished with pins 5 or the strikermechanism 2O 19 la is operated by finlike. Rotation is imparted to thedrum 4 by gers or pawls 24-, pivoted in open cells 25, promeans of agrooved pulley 6 (or any other vided on the periphery of a revolvingdrum 5 45 suitable means) and a suitable gearing, which 26. The pawls orfingers 21 are controlled in consists of a pinion 7, keyed on thepulleytheir position and governed in their action shaft 8 and engaging aspur-wheel 9 on an by a perforated sheet- 27, similar to aperfointerinediate shaft 10. The shafts 8 and 10 rated music-sheet,passing around the said are journaled in the brackets 1 and 1* of thecellular drum 25 26, the sheet 27 being suptoo 50 frame 2. The rotationof the shaft 10 is transported by a suitable guide-roll 28. When inittedto the drum 4 by means of a pinion 11, the mechanism is set in motion,the perforated sheet 27 will be drawn over and around the cellular drum.The full parts of the sheet will then close the cells and retain thecorresponding pawls or fingers therein, as this is evident from Fig. 3.As soon as a perforation 27* in the sheet 27 registers with a cell thefinger 24: of this cell will swing out under the influence of itsgravity or weight and enter the said perforation, as this is alsoobvious from Fig. 3. The thus-radiated finger 24 is then carried aroundby the cellular drum and sheet 27 and brought into contact with the nose23 in order to trip the lever 20 and to actuate thereby the striker 14in the manner above described With reference to Figs. 1 and 2. Thefinger 24 having passed the nose 23 and its upper dead-center turnsagain down into the interior of its cell'in order to be retained thereinby a full part of the sheet 27 or to be allowed to turn outward into aperforation of the said sheet, as the case may be.

The pins 5 on drum 4 or the perforations in sheet 27 and thegravity-pawls 2st on drum 25 are, as will readily be understood, soarranged relatively to the levers 20 and the striker-levers 1- that saidlevers 20 will be actuated in proper succession from the first to thelast letter to be mechanically reproduced thereby, as is the case inappliances for mechanically operating musical keyboard instruments ormusical instruments of the music-box type that is to say, instruments inwhich suitablyarrauged pins on a drum or roller are caused to actdirectly upon sou nd-prod ucing devices.

7e are aware that it is not new to mechanically operate the keys of akeyboard musical instrument by means of a drum organized to actuatestrikers, which latter operate keys in their proper sequence, accordingto the sequence of the notes of a piece of music. We

are also aware that the operation of the keys of a keyboard musicalinstrument has been controlled by means of a suitably-perforated sheetcontrolling the movements of dogs or pawls on a revolving drum, whichdogs or pawls actuate the operating devices. o are furthermore awarethat it is not new to operate the keys of a type-writer for producingprinted matter from a perforated tape or ribbon, and we do not desire toclaim, broadly, mechanical appliances for actuating the keys of akeyboard instrument for the reproduction of written or printed matter;but

We claim as our invention- The combination with the keyboard of atype-writer, of an attachment comprising a number of striker-levers 14;equal to the number of keys on said keyboard, said levers having acommon fulcrum and being provided at their free ends with a downwardprojection adapted to bear on the finger-piece of their respective keys,a rock-lover 21 connected to each striker-lever by a rod or wire 19,said rock-levers 21 having a common fulcrum below the striker-levers, adrum revoluble in front of said rock-levers 21 and means connected withsaid drum and organized to act on the short arms of the rock-levers 21at the proper time and in proper sequence to actuate the striker-leversand therethrough the keys, substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

ERNST LUDWIG GEOltG CARL 'lIlEODOIt BIELEFELD'IF. llClIAllD FRIEDRICHEll-HST LEOPOLD SILWAR.

Witnesses:

MAX LEMCKE, E. II. L. MUMMENnoFF,

